Transport for London (TfL) has ruled Uber is not against the law in the UK, despite huge black cab driver protests.
Black cabbies were concerned that the taxi app had been breaking taxi-metering rules, but TfL has ruled the service is perfectly lawful.
TfL has said the ride-sharing service is free to continue working in London, letting customers book drivers via the Uber smartphone app.
“In relation to the way Uber operates in London, TfL is satisfied that based upon our understanding of the relationship between passenger and Uber London, and between Uber London and Uber BV, registered in Holland, that it is operating lawfully under the terms of the 1988 PHV(L) Act,” said Leon Daniels, MD of Surface Transport in a statement to the TfL board.
Daniels added that as Uber taxi drivers’ taximeters are their smartphones, they “have no operational or physical connection with the vehicles, and … are not taximeters within the meaning of the legislation.”
TfL says it is “supported by legal advice” and states that there are “no grounds to take action against Uber London Ltd, Uber BV or Uber drivers under s.2 of the 1998 Act.”
However, the TfL decision isn’t final. A British court will make a final ruling later as to whether the Uber tech is the same as a taximeter, but the decision has been delayed while a taxi union brings six legal cases against Uber drivers.
Until then though, Uber drives can continue operating in the English capital.
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